1128 CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE NATIONAL HERBARIUM. 



7. Diospyros ebenaster Retz. Obs. Bot. 5: 31. 1789. 



Diospyros oMusifoUa Humb. & Bonpl. ; Willd. Sp. PI. 4: 1112. 1805. 



Diospyros tiltzapotl Sess6 & Moc. PI. Nov. H^sp. 179. 1887. 



Cultivated in Mexico from Jalisco to Chiapas, Veracruz, and Yucatan, and 

 apparently naturalized locallj^ Native of the East Indies, but widely cultivated 

 in tropical America. 



Large shrub or medium-sized tree; leaves oblong or elliptic, sometimes 30 

 cm. long, persistent, obtuse or acutish. glabrous ; flowers polygamous ; corolla 

 yellowish white or greenish; fruit subglobose, shining, olive-green, the pulp 

 dark and soft; seeds 4 to 10. " Zapote prieto " (Jalisco, Chiapas, Michoacin, 

 Guerrero, Morelos, Tabasco, Yucatan, Philippines) ; " tauch," " tauch ya " 

 (Yucatfln, Maya); "zapote negro" (Oaxaca) ; "biaqui" (Oaxaca, Zapotec, 

 Reko) ; " tliltzapotl," " totocuitlatzapotl," " tlilzapotl " (Nahuatl) ; "guaya- 

 bota " (Porto Rico). 



This tree must have been introduced into Mexico at an early date, for it is 

 mentioned by the older writers. Indeed, some writei'S have been inclined to 

 consider it a native of Mexico, and Merrill states that it was carried from this 

 country to the Philippines. 



The tree is said to be the source of some of the East Indian ebony. The 

 fruit is eaten, but is is of poor quality. The green fruit is reported to have 

 been used in the Philippines and West Indies for stupefying fish. In Mexica 

 the ripe fruit is made into preserves, which are reported to be of excellent 

 quality. Brandy also is said to have been made from the pulp. Urbina re- 

 ports the OtomI names as " bom-rza " and " phonimurza." 



The tree was described by Hernandez under the name " tlilzapotl " ( " black 

 zapote"). He states that it was used as a remedy for leprosy, ringworm, 

 and itch, and also for killing fish. 



8. Diospyros sonorae Standi. Contr, U. S. Nat. Herb. 18: 120. 1916. 

 Sonora and Sinaloa ; type from Alamos,. Sonora. 



Tree of large or medium size, the crown dense and spreading ; leaves oblong 

 or narrowly oblong, 6 to 13 cm. long, rounded at apex, grayish green, puberulent 

 or glabrate beneath ; fruit about 2.5 cm. in diameter ; seeds about 8. 

 " Guayaparfn." 



The tree is cultivated, but is probably also native in the region. The pulp 

 of the fruit is black and insipid. 



9. Diospyros sinaloensis Blake. Contr. Gray Herb. 52: 77. 1917. 

 Sinaloa ; type from Altata. 



Leaves oblong, 5 to 12 cm. long, rounded at apex, grayish green, very 

 sparsely appressed-pilosulous beneath when young but soon glabrous; corolla 

 densely sericeous, about 1 cm. long. 



10. Diospyros rosei Standi. Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 18: 119. 1916. 

 Sinaloa (?) and Tepic; type from Acaponeta, Tepc. 



Tree; leaves obovate-oblong, 6 to 14 cm. long, rounded at apex, cuneate at 

 base, puberulent or glabrate beneath, coriaceous; fruit about 2.5 cm. in di- 

 ameter; seeds 8 to 10. " Guayaparin " (Sinaloa). 



11. Diospyros sphaerantha Standi. Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 18: 191. 1916. 

 Type collected near Colomas, in the Sierra Madre of Sinaloa. 



Leaves deciduous, elliptic-oblong, 4.5 to 8 cm. long, obtuse or rounded at apex, 

 sparsely strigillose when young but soon glabrous; calyx 3 cm. broad; corolla 

 8 mm. long, densely sericeous. 



It is rather doubtful whether this and D. sinaloensis are distinct from D. 

 reset. 



